CHENNAI: While everyone is talking about rainwater harvesting and water conservation, Planet Symphony, a non-profit organisation on Sunday launched a project that also looks into one of the most important aspects — how to attract rain. The Scientific Urban Roofscaping for Environment (SURE) project provides the residents of Chennai, a solution on three aspects — how to attract rain, how to harvest it and how not to repel rain.
“Instead of building rainproof houses, we have all built a rainproof city. So, a lot of areas are not getting rain at all. Even if they are getting, it is unpredictable and random. And when it does, there are storms and floods. So, our solution is simple — go back to basics,” says Chitravina N Ravikiran, founder, Planet Symphony.
As long as the trees were higher than the buildings, rain patterns were fairly good. But the moment the scenario became vice versa, the city started attracting heat, he explains. “These buildings attract, trap and radiate heat. To begin with, any building higher or farther from a tree has to be greened. An economical solution is to have 65-70 per cent of potted plants on the terrace.
With plants even available at Rs 100, this should not be an issue. One can also opt for terrace garden if he/she can afford. It is proven that this can control temperature and urban pollution.” For the second step, which is rainwater harvesting, Planet Symphony tied up with institutions like Rain Centre to help set up rainwater harvesting mechanisms at all the houses.
“The last step is not to repel rain and this can be achieved by installing solar panels on the roofs. It promotes greener and cleaner energy. All the three aspects we are addressing are interconnected and if we are looking for overnight transformation before the northeast monsoon, this can be it,” said Ravikiran. The expert advice on all the three steps is provided by Planet Symphony at free of cost. The public only needs to invest on the infrastructure. For further details, contact 9840122711